Re: Translating copyright info in --version commands?
Hi!
On Tue, 2012-01-31 at 08:53:39 +0100, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
> we have lots of translatable strings containing just copyright
> information. I'm not quite sure why those strings are translatable but
> I can imagine that it was meant so that translators can add themselves
> to the list. In practice, none of the translators have been doing this.
The copyright string was printed together with the license one
initially, I changed that so that there would be less text to
translate in commit 41d48bb4a2628f71f3958d0bf7b31ea3ed5e4052.
Before that I don't think this had anything to do with translators
copyrights. But...
> On the other hand, some translators have used this opportunity to replace
> "(C)" by the UTF-8 character "©".
... this was one reason for me to keep the pure copyright strings
marked, but not the only one, the “Copyright” string itself can be
translated in some locales, the years written in a different script,
words order changed, and names written with correct spelling.
> I always find it a pity that those strings are tagged as translatable.
> Instead of properly updating the copyright information, I tend to leave
> the strings alone to avoid useless churn on translators.
>
> I would like to fix this. Here are some suggestions.
[...]
The more complicated copyright() framework would not catter for the
above possibilities.
> What do you think?
This is something that has annoyed me for some time, but for other
reasons too. Even if I added myself to two --version output strings
long time ago, I've refreained from doing so again, because I find this
information belongs in the file comment header, so duplicating it in
the --version output is more stuff to keep in mind, and can get easily
out of sync, it does not really belong in the --version output IMO and
I find it annoying there (the license information too for that matter).
It's not even consistent in all dpkg tools, some do print it some don't.
As you said it's annoying for translators. And lastly, at least for the
C code, it would not be accurate anyway, as the copyright of the
command would include the copyrights of at least all other C files that
end up in the binary. This makes sense in a GUI app on the About dialog
or on an initial screen on a TUI app, but I don't think it belongs in a
CLI app.
So my preferred solution would be to just get rid of those strings
altogether, if someone wants to see the copyright, they should check
the source code. I've had a patch around to do just that (attached),
but I've not applied it more out of courtesy than anything else.
To me the same applies to man pages, but I left those alone at the
time.
thanks,
guillem
diff --git a/dpkg-split/main.c b/dpkg-split/main.c
index 9b8b09a..91e67be 100644
--- a/dpkg-split/main.c
+++ b/dpkg-split/main.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
* dpkg-split - splitting and joining of multipart *.deb archives
* main.c - main program
*
- * Copyright © 1995 Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
+ * Copyright © 1994-1996 Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
*
* This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ printversion(const struct cmdinfo *cip, const char *value)
{
printf(_("Debian `%s' package split/join tool; version %s.\n"),
SPLITTER, DPKG_VERSION_ARCH);
- printf(_("Copyright (C) 1994-1996 Ian Jackson.\n"));
+
printf(_(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or\n"
"later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.\n"));
diff --git a/dselect/main.cc b/dselect/main.cc
index 357f323..0bdefaa 100644
--- a/dselect/main.cc
+++ b/dselect/main.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
* dselect - Debian package maintenance user interface
* main.cc - main program
*
- * Copyright © 1994,1995 Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
+ * Copyright © 1994-1996 Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
* Copyright © 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman <wakkerma@debian.org>
*
* This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -157,10 +157,6 @@ static const menuentry menuentries[]= {
static const char programdesc[]=
N_("Debian `%s' package handling frontend version %s.\n");
-static const char copyrightstring[]= N_(
- "Copyright (C) 1994-1996 Ian Jackson.\n"
- "Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman.\n");
-
static const char licensestring[]= N_(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or\n"
"later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.\n");
@@ -169,7 +165,6 @@ static void DPKG_ATTR_NORET
printversion(const struct cmdinfo *ci, const char *value)
{
printf(gettext(programdesc), DSELECT, DPKG_VERSION_ARCH);
- printf("%s", gettext(copyrightstring));
printf("%s", gettext(licensestring));
m_output(stdout, _("<standard output>"));
@@ -422,7 +417,8 @@ refreshmenu(void)
"Press <enter> to confirm selection. ^L redraws screen.\n\n"));
attrset(A_NORMAL);
- addstr(gettext(copyrightstring));
+ addstr(_("Copyright (C) 1994-1996 Ian Jackson.\n"
+ "Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman.\n"));
addstr(gettext(licensestring));
modstatdb_init();
diff --git a/scripts/changelog/debian.pl b/scripts/changelog/debian.pl
index c5fe37d..6d7f63c 100755
--- a/scripts/changelog/debian.pl
+++ b/scripts/changelog/debian.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
#
# parsechangelog/debian
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2005,2007 Frank Lichtenheld
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -34,9 +37,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2005,2007 Frank Lichtenheld.");
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-architecture.pl b/scripts/dpkg-architecture.pl
index 97c0b9f..0595a79 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-architecture.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-architecture.pl
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
#
# dpkg-architecture
#
+# Copyright © 1999-2001 Marcus Brinkmann <brinkmd@debian.org>
# Copyright © 2004-2005 Scott James Remnant <scott@netsplit.com>,
-# Copyright © 1999 Marcus Brinkmann <brinkmd@debian.org>.
# Copyright © 2006-2011 Guillem Jover <guillem@debian.org>
#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -37,10 +37,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1999-2001 Marcus Brinkmann <brinkmd\@debian.org>.
-Copyright (C) 2004-2005 Scott James Remnant <scott\@netsplit.com>.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-buildflags.pl b/scripts/dpkg-buildflags.pl
index 8f4b7f0..d0f9fa8 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-buildflags.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-buildflags.pl
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 2010-2011 Raphael Hertzog <hertzog\@debian.org>.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-buildpackage.pl b/scripts/dpkg-buildpackage.pl
index 2a36308..8abe5a2 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-buildpackage.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-buildpackage.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
#
# dpkg-buildpackage
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2000 Wichert Akkerman
+# Copyright © 2007 Frank Lichtenheld
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -38,11 +42,6 @@ sub showversion {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
print _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2000 Wichert Akkerman
-Copyright (C) 2007 Frank Lichtenheld");
-
- print _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-distaddfile.pl b/scripts/dpkg-distaddfile.pl
index 7b5274e..45f5d26 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-distaddfile.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-distaddfile.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
#
# dpkg-distaddfile
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -34,9 +36,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-genchanges.pl b/scripts/dpkg-genchanges.pl
index 2d0b79d..5f71363 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-genchanges.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-genchanges.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
#
# dpkg-genchanges
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -96,10 +99,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-gencontrol.pl b/scripts/dpkg-gencontrol.pl
index be30cc8..3a2185f 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-gencontrol.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-gencontrol.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
#
# dpkg-gencontrol
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2000,2002 Wichert Akkerman
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -57,10 +60,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2000,2002 Wichert Akkerman.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-gensymbols.pl b/scripts/dpkg-gensymbols.pl
index 06bbbba..c574331 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-gensymbols.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-gensymbols.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
#
# dpkg-gensymbols
#
+# Copyright © 2007 Raphaël Hertzog
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -49,10 +51,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 2007 Raphael Hertzog.
-");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-maintscript-helper.sh b/scripts/dpkg-maintscript-helper.sh
index 92088ae..8c8b9ac 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-maintscript-helper.sh
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-maintscript-helper.sh
@@ -296,11 +296,6 @@ mv_conffile)
cat <<-END
Debian $PROGNAME version $version.
- Copyright (C) 2010 Raphaël Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
- Copyright (C) 2008 Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>
- Copyright (C) 2007 Guillem Jover <guillem@debian.org>
- Copyright (C) 2005 Scott James Remnant
-
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
END
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-mergechangelogs.pl b/scripts/dpkg-mergechangelogs.pl
index 1729368..152aeb0 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-mergechangelogs.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-mergechangelogs.pl
@@ -52,8 +52,6 @@ BEGIN {
sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
- printf "\n" . _g("Copyright (C) 2009-2010 Raphael Hertzog.");
-
printf "\n" . _g(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-parsechangelog.pl b/scripts/dpkg-parsechangelog.pl
index 2ab7608..705b336 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-parsechangelog.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-parsechangelog.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
#
# dpkg-parsechangelog
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2001 Wichert Akkerman
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -31,10 +34,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2001 Wichert Akkerman");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-shlibdeps.pl b/scripts/dpkg-shlibdeps.pl
index 25afbd4..6054500 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-shlibdeps.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-shlibdeps.pl
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
#
# dpkg-shlibdeps
#
+# Copyright © 1996 Ian Jackson
+# Copyright © 2000 Wichert Akkerman
+# Copyright © 2006 Frank Lichtenheld
+# Copyright © 2007 Raphaël Hertzog
+#
# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
@@ -535,13 +540,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson.
-Copyright (C) 2000 Wichert Akkerman.
-Copyright (C) 2006 Frank Lichtenheld.
-Copyright (C) 2007 Raphael Hertzog.
-");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-source.pl b/scripts/dpkg-source.pl
index 1b90491..881d521 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-source.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-source.pl
@@ -455,11 +455,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
print _g("
-Copyright (C) 1996 Ian Jackson
-Copyright (C) 1997 Klee Dienes
-Copyright (C) 2008 Raphael Hertzog");
-
- print _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/scripts/dpkg-vendor.pl b/scripts/dpkg-vendor.pl
index f1dabe3..3ea1c9a 100755
--- a/scripts/dpkg-vendor.pl
+++ b/scripts/dpkg-vendor.pl
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ sub version {
printf _g("Debian %s version %s.\n"), $progname, $version;
printf _g("
-Copyright (C) 2009 Raphael Hertzog <hertzog\@debian.org>.");
-
- printf _g("
This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.
");
diff --git a/src/divertcmd.c b/src/divertcmd.c
index e7249bd..6444767 100644
--- a/src/divertcmd.c
+++ b/src/divertcmd.c
@@ -67,11 +67,6 @@ printversion(const struct cmdinfo *cip, const char *value)
DPKG_VERSION_ARCH);
printf(_(
-"Copyright (C) 1995 Ian Jackson.\n"
-"Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Wichert Akkerman.\n"
-"Copyright (C) 2010 Guillem Jover.\n"));
-
- printf(_(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or\n"
"later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.\n"));
diff --git a/src/statcmd.c b/src/statcmd.c
index 47dcf12..b016097 100644
--- a/src/statcmd.c
+++ b/src/statcmd.c
@@ -58,10 +58,6 @@ printversion(const struct cmdinfo *cip, const char *value)
DPKG_VERSION_ARCH);
printf(_(
-"Copyright (C) 2000, 2001 Wichert Akkerman.\n"
-"Copyright (C) 2006-2009 Guillem Jover.\n"));
-
- printf(_(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or\n"
"later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.\n"));
diff --git a/utils/update-alternatives.c b/utils/update-alternatives.c
index 16fd8c6..38a7dec 100644
--- a/utils/update-alternatives.c
+++ b/utils/update-alternatives.c
@@ -81,11 +81,6 @@ version(void)
printf("\n");
printf(_(
-"Copyright (C) 1995 Ian Jackson.\n"
-"Copyright (C) 2000-2002 Wichert Akkerman.\n"
-"Copyright (C) 2009-2010 Raphael Hertzog.\n"));
-
- printf(_(
"This is free software; see the GNU General Public License version 2 or\n"
"later for copying conditions. There is NO warranty.\n"));
}
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